chief accountant of the Bank of England, not later than 1 month and 5 days before the date on which the dividends are due. THE TRANSFER DAYS are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Tickets for preparing Transfer of Stock must be given in at each Office before 1 o'clock. Private Transfers may be made at other times than as above, by paying 2s. 6d. extra for each Transfer; but no Transfer can be made after 1 o'clock on Saturdays. May 1 and Nov. 1 are closed days for the purposes of transfer. For Transfer of Bank Stock the books are shut for at least ten days before the dividends become due; in all other Stocks the Transfers can be made at any time (except on the holidays); but a month before the dividends become due they are made ex dividend. EXPENSE OF TRANSFER. Bank Stock, not exceeding £25 98.; above that sum, 12s. Private transfer days, 2s. 6d. extra. Transfers in Consols and other Govern ment Stocks are exempt from duty. HOLIDAYS KEPT AT THE PUBLIC OFFICES IN 1877. At the EXCHEQUER all holidays are abolished except Christmas Day and Good Friday. EXCISE, STAMPS, AND TAXES OFFICES. Good Friday, March 30. Day appointed to be kept as the Queen's Birthday. Coronation Day, June 28. Prince of Wales's Birthday, Nov. 9. Christmas Day, Dec. 25. All the above days are also ordered to be kept as holidays by the officers and servants of the Custom House and the Dock Companies of the United Kingdom, except the Prince of Wales's Birthday and the Coronation Day. At the Stamps and Taxes Office, the Restoration of Charles II., May 29; Whit Monday and Tuesday (May 21 and 22) are kept in addition. BANK HOLIDAYS. Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, First Monday in August, Christmas Day. Note.-Bills of Exchange falling due on Good Friday and Christmas Day are payable on the previous day; those due on the other holidays being payable on the following day. LAW SITTINGS, 1877. HILARY SITTINGS begin 11th January-End 28th March. 1 M 2 Tu 3 W 4 TH 5 F 6 S 7 S Rev. 21 to v. 9 Sundays and Pr. Alb. V. of Wales b. IGen. 2, v. 4; or Job 38 Rev. 21 v. 9 to 22 v. 6 ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA. Mercury, in the constellations Sagittarius and Capricornus, is visible after sunset, about the 11th, at greatest elongation, 18° 57' E. Venus, in the constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius, is a morning star. On the 9th in conjunction with Jupiter at 0° 34' S. On the 15th, rises at 6h 14m A.M.; on the 25th, in conjunction with v1 and v2 Sagittarii. Mars, in the constellations Libra and Scorpio, is visible in the mornings before sunrise. On the 15th, rises at 3h 58m A.M.; on the 26th, in conjunc tion with the star w Ophiuchi, at 0° 6' N. Jupiter, in the constellation Sagittarius, is visible in the mornings before sunrise. On the 15th, rises at 5h 49m A.M. The Moon, on the 9th, at 9h P.M. in conjunction with Mars at 5° 38' N.; on the 11th, at 7h P.M., with Jupiter, at 5° 29' N.; at midnight, with Venus, at 5° 54' N.; on the 15th, at 2h A.M., in Apogee; on on the 16th, at 2h A.M., in conjunction with Mercury, at 3° 13' N.; on the 18th, at 2h A.M., with Saturn, at 1° 20' S.; on the 29th, at 3h A.M., in Perigee. The Constellation Canis Major will be on the meridian about midnight in the beginning, and Gemini and Canis Minor about the middle of the month. MONTHLY NOTICES. 2. Candlemas-day. Scotch quarter-day. Tenancy. A yearly tenant must give notice to quit half a year before the expiration of the current year of his tenancy. If, by agreement, a quarter's notice is to be sufficient, such notice must also expire with the tenancy, if that is yearly. Wills.-All wills made in England after Jan. 1838, come under the provisions of the Wills Act, of which an abstract was given in Brit. Almanac for 1838. By it, all property may be disposed of by will; a will must be in writing, and must be signed at the bottom or end by the testator, or, if he is unable, by some person on his behalf, by his direction, and in his presence; and two, or more, attesting witnesses (who must be present at the same time) must also sign the will in the presence of the testator. If the testator wishes 4 S. Genesis 3 11 S. to acknowledge or reward the attesting witnesses, he must do it some other way than by a bequest: for legacies to attesting witnesses, or to the wife or husband of an attesting witness, are void. No person under 21 can make a valid will. Wills are revoked by subsequent marriage; otherwise a will can only be revoked by destruction, or by the making of a new one; and alterations in wills must be made in the same manner as a will is made. Wills are to be construed as if made immediately before the death of the testator, unless a contrary intention is expressed; and properties bequeathed in general terms include all property in the possession of the testator at his decease, whether acquired before or after the will was made. [If persons make their own wills, without legal assistance, let them express themselves in a plain simple way, avoiding roundabout phrases, or attempts to imitate legal phraseology.] 9 to v. 20 14 Ash Wed. Isaiah 58 to v. 13 18 S. Genesis 19, v. 12-30 Matthew 26, v. 57 Remarkable Days High Spring Tides. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA. Mercury, in the constellation Capricornus, is visible before sunrise about the 20th, at greatest 1 TH 32 Partridge shooting ends. elongation 26° 41′ W. 2 F 33 3 S 34 Candlemas Day. 435 Sexagesima Sunday. 5 M 36 6 Tu 37 7 W 38 Venus, in the constellation Capricornus, is a morning star. On the 15th, rises at 6h 35m A.M. Mars, in the constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius, is visible in the mornings before sunrise. On the 15th, rises at 3h 43m A.M. Jupiter, in the constellation Sagittarius, is also visible in. the mornings before sunrise. On the 15th, rises at 4h 14m A.M. Saturn, in the constellation Aquarius, is too near the Sun for observation. Uranus, in the constellation Leo, is in opposition to the Sun on the 11th, and at transit is in R.A., 9h 41m 2s, Dec. 14° 42' N. Neptune is in the constellation Aries. On the 15th, passes the meridian at 4h 22m P.M. The Moon, on the 7th, at 2h P.M., in conjunction with Mars, at 5° 28' N; on the 8th, at noon, with Jupiter, at 5° 28' N; on the 11th, at 2h A.M., with Lent begins. Ash Wed. Mercury; at 4h A.M., in Apogee; at 8h A.M., in conjunction with Venus, at 20 59' N; on the 14th, at 3h P.M., with Saturn, at 1° 42' S; and on the 26th, at 2h P.M., in Perigee. The Constellations Ursa Major, Leo Minor, and Leo, will be on the meridian about midnight, after the middle of the month. Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites. First Satellite. On the 16th Im. at 4h 33m 55s Second Satellite. On the 22nd Im. at 5h 38m 14s 15 7 16 14 23 5 13 12 16 7 14 14 19 5 15 12 17 7 12 14 15 18 7 10 14 10 5 19 11 19 7 8 14 4 5 20 11 20 7 6 13 57 5 22 10 21 7 4 13 50 5 24 10 22 7 2 13 42 5 26 10 23 7 0 13 34 5 28 24 6 58 13 25 5 29 25 6 55 13 15 5 31 8 56 26 6 53 13 5 5 33 8 34 27 6 51 12 545 35 8 11 28 6 49 12 42 5 36 7 48 32 11 3.1 5 17 11 50 4.1 29 7 46 24 5 51 6 31 6 10 20 6 55 21 |